Public surveillance on a massive scale, the invasion of individual privacy, the growing success of populist politicians and a return of authoritarian regimes in Europe and elsewhere … do such kinds of recent setbacks in the rights of the individual suggest that democracy is on the retreat? Following the progressive expansion of democracy over the past several decades, can it be said that a democratic reversal is in the offing?

The Modes of Democracy exhibition assumes that merely postulating this question is in itself the expression of a genuine concern, a sense of participation and vested interest in it - all part and parcel of a functioning democracy. The central precept underlying the exhibition is that the further development of democracy, its progress and indeed its very survival in a global world depend upon respect for shared values as well as different cultures across regions, nation-states and throughout the wider global community. The exhibition will present inspirational accounts of democracy in operation at various levels: a neighbourhood, a town, a metropolis, an autonomous region, as well as in large and small countries.

The exhibition will present real-life instances of democracy in action not only from Europe and North America, but also from other geographic and cultural areas (i.e. South America and Asia). It will thus seek to demonstrate how local democratic forms are being shaped by global trends and vice-versa, providing insights into an emerging idea of a trans-national democracy. The exhibition will showcase individual works of art as well as entire collections of works by various artists, including the documentation of short and long-term projects in which artists are already cooperating with local communities.

The exhibition will be divided into six sections, grouped both thematically and geographically, with Europe being represented with experiences in three countries: civic activities as art projects in Ústí nad Labem, (Czech Republic), the coexistence of three ethnic groups in the autonomous province of South Tyrol (Italy) and crowd-sourcing a new constitution (Iceland).

Curators for the Italian, Czech and South American sections are respectively: Haimo Perkmann, Michal and Zdena Koleček, Daniel Latorre and Todd Lester.

The exhibition will be supplemented by a number of public events, with the participation of both local and foreign organizations (e.g. the Active Citizenship Project, Prazelenina, etc.)

The exhibition started out as a satellite project for the 30th Council of Europe Art Exhibition: The Desire for Freedom. Art in Europe since 1945, which opened in Berlin in 2012. The exhibition was organized by the Deutsches Historisches Museum with the support of the Council of Europe and the EU Cultural Programme. Jaroslav Anděl, Artistic Director of the DOX Centre in Prague, also consulted for the original exhibition.